Problems with Sulfur being locked out by PH troubles
Soil
Sulfur gets locked out of soil growing at ph levels of 2.0-5.5
Sulfur is absorbed best in soil at a ph level of 6.0- 9.5 (Wouldn’t recommend having a soil ph of over 7.0 in soil) Anything out of the ranges listed will contribute to a Sulfur Deficiency.
Hydro and Soil less Mediums
Sulfur gets locked out of Hydro and Soil less Mediums at ph levels of 2.0-5.5
Sulfur is absorbed best in Hydro and Soil less Mediums at ph levels of 6.0- 9.5 (Wouldn’t recommend having a ph over 6.5 in hydro and soil less mediums.) Best range for hydro and soil less mediums is 5.0 to 6.0. Anything out of the ranges listed will contribute to an Sulfur deficiency.
Solution to fixing a Sulfur deficiency
Mix 1-2 teaspoons of Epsom salts per gallon of water until condition improves.
Any Chemical/Organic nutrients that have Sulfur in them will fix a Sulfur deficiency. (Only mixing at ½ strength when using chemical nutrients or it will cause nutrient burn!) Other sulfur nutrient supplements are: Rain water, Ammonium Thiosulfate, which is all fast absorption. Garden Sulfur, Sulfate of Potash, Gypsum.
Note: Caution when using gypsum to an already acid soil (pH that is less than 5.5) can have a very bad effect on different types of plants by affecting the absorption of soil aluminum, which is poison to plant roots.
Now if you added to much chemical nutrients and or organics, (which is hard to burn your plants when using organics) you need to flush the soil with plain water. You need to use 2 times as much water as the size of the pot, for example: If you have a 5 gallon pot and need to flush it, you need to use 10 gallons of water to rinse out the soil good enough to get rid of excessive nutrients.
Pictures 1 shows a sulfur deficiency, notice how at the top part the yellow is starting from the backside of the leaf towards the front.....
hemivette, what wattage lights did you get? What size area?
hemivette, what wattage lights did you get? What size area?
my old models ive used never had this problem but i gave them food right away. i checked my water PH with seaweed and it was 7.8PH so i am guessing thats the cause. i also think the lights make the plants work harder and use more food. i gave them PH corrected food last night so i will see what happens over the next few days? i talked to mike and ask if this could be the reason because of his lights, and he said he already sold 50 of them over a month ago and hasnt heard anything like that, and his buddy uses them and no problems. i think mine were just hungry, they had big roots when transplanting, and SS#4 has no food in it! i only gave them seaweed witch isnt a NPK, so i think they wanted Nitrogen. the cool thing is my 7.8PH water gose to 6.5PH once i add my organic nutes, i tested it last night. so thats great for me. ill keep you posted on how they look in a few days.
no i think its a PH thing and lack of food going to the plants on my part. i think the lights make them eat faster.
do you have any kind or yellowing on yours with the new 2011 model? can you post a pic or give some detail on how ur plants look? how long u been using the new light?
